This invention relates to a composition and method of treating water sensitive materials, such as soil formations, paper products, and the like.
Soil stability is a problem of major concern in construction, road building, and well boring operations, such as oil and water wells. Soil conditions, such as clay soils and sandy soils tend to be unstable when in contact with water. In petroleum-producing operations, the oil-bearing strata can undergo permeability losses which obstruct the flow of petroleum to a producing well when in contact with water from water injection wells or water from adjacent strata which leach into the petroleum-producing strata. Thief zones can divert valuable injection solutions to strata other than the producing zone. Unpaved roadways have a tendency to degenerate into muddy boggs after showers. In many countries, claylike bricks, called "Adobe", are used for building. The bricks lose structural integrity and strength when exposed to water.
Aqueous hydroxy-aluminum solutions have been used to maintain oil permeability in petroleum-bearing strata exposed to water and/or plug thief zones. The aqueous hydroxy-aluminum solutions have also been used for surface soil stabilization. Although treated soil is an improvement over untreated soil, the structural integrity of the soil is reduced upon exposure to flood-like conditions or complete immersion in water.
Calcium lignin sulfonate has also been used to impart water resistance to soil formations and paper products, such as corregated cardboard. However, the water resistance disappears upon exposure to flood-like conditions or immersion in water.
Other solutions to the problem of water damage, such as paving roadways or cementing water-bearing strata in petroleum wells, may be impractical in remote areas or excessively costly. Thus, it would be highly desirable to have alternative compositions and effective methods of imparting soil stabilization or water resistance to paper products. It would be also desirable to have compositions and methods of treatment which are superior to those presently known in the art.